A LOCAL food business has been named a Wessex regional winner in the Countryside Alliance Awards.

Filberts Fine Foods, based in Milton Abbas, has topped the Rural Enterprise class of the awards, which are known as the Rural Oscars.

The business produces infused dressings and rapeseed oil, which is pressed in Sherborne, and a very popular selection of nut-based snacks. The Mr Filbert's Inventive Snacks range includes Kasbah Spiced Nuts made with cumin, coriander, fresh mint, chilli and local Dorset honey, Sweet Chipotle Mixed Nuts and Dorset Toasted Nuts and Seeds flavoured with wild garlic-infused sea salt.

The business has achieved remarkable success in a very short time. Launched last April by Mark Taylor and Paul Dooley, the business won the 2010 Innovation Award at the Lunch show in London.

Commenting on Filbert's, Countryside Alliance Awards judges said: "This is a fresh, lively and vibrant enterprise which is a breath of fresh air to the way rural businesses run.

"Filberts launched in 2010 with a huge passion for food and ingredients and an ingenious design for flavouring nuts – air roasted rather than deep fried, to cater for the more health-aware market.

"Filberts have developed a range which reflects the produce of Dorset, with honey from Sherborne Beekeepers Club and wild garlic from within the county, they make the most of what Dorset has to offer, which is a huge amount.

"This is enterprise at its finest; always eyeing the gaps in the market and really going for it."

Mark Taylor, managing director of Filbert's Fine Foods, said: "We are so thrilled. The award is a great achievement not only for the Filbert's team, but for everyone from our local suppliers and business support network to the retailers who stock the brand, and the customers who clearly enjoy the products."

The Filbert's team will be attending the awards final at the House of Lords on Wednesday 30th March, when the overall champion will be announced.